1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric power retail management apparatus and an electric power retailing management method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Although electric power supply to electric power customers has been monopolized by electric power companies, electric power retailers have became enabled to participate in electric power supply along with an amendment to the Electricity Business Act. When supplying electric power for retail purchased from a power producer to a plurality of contracted electric power customers, the electric power retailers must adjust an electric power supply amount so as to balance supply and demand. However, unexpected fluctuations in demand may occur.
In view of the above, an electric power retailing system has been developed that performs adjustment of demand and supply so as to be able to respond to unexpected fluctuations in demand on a certain day and ensures electric power necessary for supply to electric power customers (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-123578, for example).
To operate retailing business on a large scale, electric power retailers need a larger amount of electric power for retail. This requires them to acquire electric power for retail from different electric power generators existing in different regions, which, may cause a problem of an electric power transmission-distribution path depending on the positional relation between the electric power generators and electric power customers.
When the path between a power generator of a power producer and an electric power customer is long, for example, the path spreads across electric power transmission-distribution networks of different electric power companies, thereby increasing the cost of electric power transmission-distribution or causing electric power transmission-distribution loss.